Vietnam supports close ties with China

Vietnam is calling for more cooperation with China to promote the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which is expected to become one of the world's largest free trade zones.

"The Vietnamese government supports and is very active in advancing economic ties with China. We hope that both sides can propose more initiatives to boost bilateral trade and investment coordination, including the RCEP," Tran Quoc Khanh, Vietnam's deputy minister of industry and trade, told China Daily.

Set to include the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, the RCEP will create a regional free trade zone of 3 billion people with a combined GDP of more than $20 trillion, making it one of the biggest free trade zones in the world.